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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22592812">Aftermath of Certain Death</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hogwartsahoy/pseuds/hogwartsahoy'>hogwartsahoy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne &amp; Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Craig lives, Cutest best friends you ever did see, Fourth Year, Gen, Mentions of Death, Trauma, Yann/Polly</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 11:27:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,368</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22592812</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hogwartsahoy/pseuds/hogwartsahoy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Six months after the events on the Quidditch Pitch, Craig Bowker Jr. (very much alive), is struggling to come to terms with what happened, despite constant support and love from his best friends. Reaching out to Albus and Scorpius seems the only way to go.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Aftermath of Certain Death</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a little different to anything I've written before, but I was talking to a friend last night and said something that sparked an idea – and thus this was born. I've kind of fallen into a pit of loving Craig, Karl, Yann and Polly lately, and this fic is pretty much just that manifesting in my mind... with some special appearances from Scorpius and Albus.</p><p>It says in the fic, but this takes place six months after the end of Cursed Child – not the staircase scene, but after the final Godric's Hollow scene. I hope you enjoy it. I had so much fun writing it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Craig didn’t think it was important. How could it be? Six months on from the events on the Quidditch Pitch, during which he’d nearly died, and he was still thinking about the <em>what if’s</em>. What if he hadn’t run to get help? What if Delphi, the woman who had been there with them, had been quicker?</p><p class="p1">Instead of walking from The Great Hall to his Charms glass, he would be dead.</p><p class="p1">He shuddered at the thought and clutched his books closer to his chest. He shouldn’t be thinking about things like that. Not when his classmates, Albus and Scorpius, had nearly been killed themselves. Had been in more danger than he ever had been. He’d seen them at their worst on the Quidditch Pitch, in danger and terrified, and he’d felt like a terrible person for running and leaving them when they needed him. But what could he have done?</p><p class="p1">Sometimes, he still woke up in the middle of the night with Albus’ words repeating through his mind. With the image of Scorpius, sweet, loving, <em>kind </em>Scorpius, on the floor of the Quidditch Pitch, shaking in pain. Albus to the side of him, tears streaming down his face. Delphi, staring at him with dangerous eyes, her wand raised…</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Scorpius, Albus – everyone’s looking for you!”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Craig, get away! Get help!”</em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em>“Avada–”</em>
</p><p class="p1">And he’d ran. He’d heard and seen enough… and he’d ran. He’d seen the green light flying past his head as he sprinted off the pitch, quicker than he’d ever run in his life. He’d missed death by an inch… possibly even less.</p><p class="p1">How was it fair that he be taunted by this constantly when Albus and Scorpius had gone through much worse? Were probably plagued by nightmares worse than his? Thoughts worse than his own? The two boys had been off school until the middle of January, and since then had both buried themselves in their studies. Craig hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to them… to <em>thank </em>Albus for telling him to run.</p><p class="p1">It was thanks to Albus he was still alive.</p><p class="p2"> </p><hr/><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were always the worst for him. He’d never really liked them before, just because he’d always hoped he’d never have a use for much or any of the content they were taught, but now he liked it even less.</p><p class="p1">There was no definition for “running and leaving your classmates to almost certain death to save your own life” in the textbooks they used. Just spells he didn’t know and never wanted to have to use.</p><p class="p1">Albus and Scorpius were sat behind him, and he spent the entire class itching to turn around and talk to them, but he could never get the courage to do so. He spent the entire time, instead, trying to focus on other things – like <em>not </em>flinching when the Professor casually mentioned ‘the killing curse’ in conversation, and trying <em>not </em>to remember the flash of green light that could have so easily killed him.</p><p class="p1">And he couldn’t talk to them anyway. He wasn’t going to be the one to rip open the wounds that they’d spent the last six months trying to sew back together. He wasn’t going to be the one to do that.</p><p class="p1">He tapped his fingers together under his desk and took very little notes for the rest of the lesson, but as he, along with Yann and Polly, went to leave the classroom and find something to do before dinner, his shoulder accidentally bumped into Albus’ in the crowded doorway. Expecting the boy to glare or say something unseemly, Craig shrunk into himself a little, only to be surprised by Albus turning and giving him a warm smile.</p><p class="p1">Craig paused a little in the doorway as Albus and Scorpius left.</p><p class="p1">“You good, Craig?” Polly asked, stopping to look back as she noticed him.</p><p class="p1">He looked between her and Yann and the disappearing forms of his fellow Slytherins and nodded slowly. “Y–<em>yeah, </em>yes. I’m– yep.” He hummed. “Shall we go?”</p><p class="p1">Polly fixed him with a slightly amused look, and then wrapped an arm around his shoulders – even though he was a little taller than she was. Yann, intrigued by the contact, and a little jealous of it, leant down and grabbed Polly’s hand, and the three walked out of Defense Against the Dark Arts with smiles on their faces for different reasons.</p><p class="p1">Yann because he was happy to be with friends, Polly because she was happy that Craig was okay, and Craig because he hadn’t expected a smile from Albus – but that was what he had received, and it reassured him immensely.</p><p class="p2"> </p><hr/><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The Great Hall, as usual, was packed with students for dinner. It was always recommended that students sit at their assigned tables, but Craig, Yann, Polly and Karl had never adhered to those rules and, since the day their friendship formed, had made regular homes with the house of the person who’d first sat down.</p><p class="p1">Today, it had been Craig’s turn (it often <em>was </em>Craig’s turn, as he came down to dinner earlier than the others. It’d been a while since they’d sat at the Gryffindor table with Yann and Polly, and Craig couldn’t remember a single day where they’d sat with Karl at the Hufflepuff table, owing to the fact that he was quite often late to dinner.)</p><p class="p1">Karl had, however, been a little earlier today, and sat happily beside Craig.</p><p class="p1">He nudged him with an elbow. “You’re a bit quiet today, buddy. All good? I have a willing ear ready to listen if you decide you want to speak. I have been told I’m a good listener by <em>two </em>people on separate occasions.”</p><p class="p1">Yann chuckled from across the table. “Is he not <em>always </em>quiet?”</p><p class="p1">Polly’s elbow connected with his side. “Don’t be rude.”</p><p class="p1">“I was being nice! That’s a compliment!”</p><p class="p1">“Is it?” Karl offered. “Is it <em>really, </em>Yann?”</p><p class="p1">Craig watched them all like he was watching tennis, gaze bouncing back and forth between all three as they harmlessly argued over Yann’s definitely-not-a-compliment. He smiled a little as he watched them. While the last six months had been hard, he felt as though he would be much less of who he was today if he hadn’t had them.</p><p class="p1">Their constant bickering was somewhat strangely comforting.</p><p class="p1">“Craig, I apologise if I offended you. I didn’t mean to. I thought I was being nice.”</p><p class="p1">Yann had lost.</p><p class="p1">He waved his hand and shook his head. “I appreciate it, but it’s not necessary,” he said. “I <em>have </em>been a bit quiet lately. You all know why, but… I may have had a slight revelation.”</p><p class="p1">Since the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, Craig had been thinking. He’d gone and sat in the Slytherin common room and tried to study, but had just ended up reading the same page of the textbook about forty-two times and not taking any of it in. Because Albus had smiled at him – and that had to mean he wasn’t mad.</p><p class="p1">He’d never given any indications to Craig that he <em>was </em>mad, and he still said hello to him every now and then, but Craig still wondered. Still allowed his overactive mind to wander every now and then. If he <em>was </em>mad, Craig would understand, because he’d left them to die, not knowing if he could get help in time or not, and when he’d returned to the Quidditch Pitch with a Professor, all trace of them had been gone.</p><p class="p1">But the smile – the smile was reason enough for Craig to believe he was wrong. That Albus and Scorpius <em>weren’t </em>mad at him… and if he were to talk to them about what happened that night, perhaps they wouldn’t shut him down after one word.</p><p class="p1">Polly raised her eyebrow. “A revelation? Do tell.”</p><p class="p1">“Well,” Craig began, looking between the three of them, “I think I’m going to try and talk to Albus and Scorpius after dinner, when I go back to the common room.”</p><p class="p1">She clapped her hands together in her glee. “You <em>are</em>?”</p><p class="p1">Karl placed a hand on his back and said, with a smile, “I’m proud of you.”</p><p class="p1">He glanced down the table where he could see them sat side by side and talking quietly to one another and hoped his decision wasn’t the wrong one. Polly, Yann and Karl would hear all about it in the morning over breakfast, of course, but still… he didn’t like to think about sleeping in the same dorm as them if they were unhappy with his choice to bring up past wounds.</p><p class="p1">Craig cleared his throat. “Yeah, <em>well, </em>it’s been six months… and it might help. You three – all of you – have been a <em>massive </em>help, I don’t deny that. But none of you ever met Delphi, and you weren’t there on the Quidditch Pitch… but they were. And maybe… maybe talking to people who were there, that saw me, that <em>saved </em>me… it could help.”</p><p class="p1">The grin on Karl’s face was infectious as he wrapped an arm around Craig and pulled him into a slightly awkward half hug. Polly and Yann, clearly afraid of missing out, were out of their seats in seconds and running around the other side of the table, where they quickly joined in on the hug. It was strange – having three of them hugging him but not being able to hug any of them back since his arms were pinned to himself by their arms, but the comfort of the hug still filled him up with warmth entirely.</p><p class="p1">“What would you do without us, huh, Craig?” Polly hummed.</p><p class="p1">“<em>Fester.</em>” Karl replied.</p><p class="p1">And the four of them burst out into laughter that brought strange looks not only from the Slytherin table, but from every other table, too, though none of them noticed or even really cared.</p><p class="p2"> </p><hr/><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">With another hug from his three best friends, Craig left The Great Hall that night and headed back to the common room with the full intention of talking to Albus and Scorpius. They were already sat on one of the sofas by the fire when he entered, having left dinner early, and when Craig sat down opposite them, they didn’t startle like he expected them to. Instead, he was fixed with another smile by <em>both </em>of them.</p><p class="p1">“Would you two mind if I talked to you?” He asked, a little hesitantly.</p><p class="p1">“You read my mind.” Albus spoke. “We, uh, we were gonna come and find you and talk to you this evening anyway…” He glanced at Scorpius. “We saw you flinch in Defense Against the Dark Arts today… we’re sorry we haven’t said anything earlier.”</p><p class="p1">Craig shook his head. “No, no- you never needed to.”</p><p class="p1">“Only, we did,” Scorpius said. “You could have– Craig, you could have–”</p><p class="p1">“I know.”</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Died. He could have died.</em>
</p><p class="p1">“You flinched in Defense today,” Albus continued. “Are you– have you been– nightmares? Or flashbacks?”</p><p class="p1">“A bit of both,” Craig admitted. “She mentioned the curse and I just remembered seeing the flash of light. And I always think about how it could have– how it could have hit me, and I wouldn’t be sitting here right now… it’s… Merlin, it’s terrifying. And I know it’s <em>nothing </em>like what either of you went through, I know that but–”</p><p class="p1">“<em>But,</em>” Scorpius cut in, “You still went through trauma. The amount of it and the difference of what it was doesn’t mean a thing.”</p><p class="p1">Albus cringed. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have had to see any of that, Craig… you, you’re too nice for any of that– you’re too good–and Delphi, she was too slow that <em>one time </em>and I can’t even comprehend how lucky you were… but I’m glad you were.”</p><p class="p1">Craig paused. Albus was <em>apologising? </em>Why was <em>he </em>of all people apologising?</p><p class="p1">He shook his head. “No, no no– Albus, please don’t apologise. Please. I– the only reason I didn’t see <em>more </em>was because you told me to leave and get help. If you hadn’t said that, if you hadn’t– I don’t even want to <em>think </em>about what could have happened. Not anymore. I’ve thought about that too much.”</p><p class="p1">Scorpius, half way through Craig’s words, had stood up from beside Albus and moved to sit alongside Craig in an act to try and comfort him. It helped, and Craig thanked him with a smile before turning back to Albus.</p><p class="p1">“I just– I want to thank you. For saving my life. I’m sorry I haven’t said anything before… but I’m saying it now, and I hope that means something.”</p><p class="p1">Albus stared at him, seemingly lost for words. He hadn’t been expecting that. He <em>really </em>hadn’t been expecting it. He’d been expecting anger or disapproval or <em>anything </em>but gratitude. He gaped as he looked between Scorpius and Craig.</p><p class="p1">Then, he was on his feet, beckoning Craig to his, and pulling him into a hug.</p><p class="p1">He sniffed, and Craig had a feeling he was near tears.</p><p class="p1">“Thank <em>you </em>for running and getting help.” His voice was quiet, but Craig heard every word of it, and caught every meaning behind every word. Even if they hadn’t been there when help arrived, it <em>had </em>arrived. And Craig <em>had </em>run… and he had a feeling that if the curse had hit him, Albus wouldn’t be as comfortable with being back at Hogwarts as he was now.</p><p class="p2"> </p><hr/><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The following morning, Polly, Yann nor Karl had to ask Craig about how it had gone. When they all got to The Great Hall and looked for their friend, they found him already sat with people – Albus and Scorpius. Sharing smiles, they walked towards them and took seats alongside them.</p><p class="p1">Polly wrapped an arm around Craig, kissed his cheek and told him she was proud of him. Yann wrapped an arm around him and smiled. Karl slid into the seat beside Albus, rested a hand on his shoulder and said “I knew you were a nice person deep down… maybe I’ll consider liking you now.”</p><p class="p1">As Craig looked out among all of them, he’d never been filled with more hope or happiness in his life… the fact that such a terrible tragedy had made way to something better and nicer and <em>happier </em>made nearly no sense to him… but he was grateful.</p>
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